Blues, brews, and BBQs -- it's a way of life. That brisket looks great, bluesman. I have a WSM too, although I haven't tried to smoke brisket yet. Do you have a suggested rub recipe?

So far, baby back ribs have been my most successful smoking meat. I like to do sort of a mexican-inspired rub with multiple varieties of dried, toasted, ground chiles (usually chipotle, chiles de arbol, ancho, guajillo, pasilla), cumin, cayenne, onion and garlic powder, salt, pepper, and mexican oregano. I like to slather the ribs with yellow mustard before applying the rub. I usually use a combination of smoke wood (white oak, cherry, apple). I start the ribs meat-side down on the cooking grate and flip them after the first hour. Then, I cook the ribs for a few hours more and take them off when they pass the tear test. I like to use a spicy Texas-style BBQ sauce to finish the ribs (but not too much -- the meat itself needs to stand out).

Here's a photo of my last rib smoke. I made some homemade fries and a spinach salad to go with the ribs.

don't want to drive the thread off topic, but do you guys like the WSM smoker (18" or 22"?). I have never smoked other than to use my Weber grill as a make-shift one, would it be easy enough for a newb?

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The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I have the 18" and it's incredibly user friendly. With a little guidance from www.virtualweberbullet.com, I made some killer baby backs the first time I fired it up. I had done some smoking on a Weber performer grill before, but the WSM took it to a different level.

don't want to drive the thread off topic, but do you guys like the WSM smoker (18" or 22"?). I have never smoked other than to use my Weber grill as a make-shift one, would it be easy enough for a newb?

Here's the BBQ guru Steven Raichlen's KC style BBQ Sauce recipe. I give it the bluesman's twist by adding some New Mexico chili powder to it. A fantastic all- around grilling sauce. Slather it on anythiing form babybacks to burgers.

Basic Barbecue Sauce RecipeThis is the type of sauce that most people in the United States think of as barbecue sauce: Brown sugar and molasses make it sweet; liquid smoke makes it smoky--there isn't a Kansas City pit boss around who wouldn't recognize it as local. Slather it on ribs and chicken, spoon it over pork shoulder, and serve it with anything else you may fancy. You won't be disappointed.

Combine all the ingredients in a nonreactive saucepan and bring slowly to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and gently simmer the sauce until dark, thick, and richly flavored, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the sauce to clean (or even sterile) jars and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for several months.

As you may have seen in the "Pub" section, I slow grill/smoked a 12-pound brisket and a 10-pound pork roast. The meat was on the grill for thirteen hours. I used a beer mop for the brisket and a slightly different on for the pork. Otherwise, I put no sauce on the meat but I do have it available at serving time. Underneath the meat, I keep a pan of water to keep the meat moist. This past weekend's effort was the best yet. We served it with a keg of Oaked Arrogant Bastard clone.

Pit BBQ is awesome. I love watching the competitions. It takes alot of failures to get to the top of the pack with the best pit bosses. Just like brewing beer...it's trial and error until things begin to come together.

Instructions:1. Mix all ingredients in a pot, and heat over med/low for 30 minutes.2. The mop is now ready to use.3. Stir well before each use. I keep the mop on low heat while I am smoking so I don't apply it cold.